Pull a fire alarm at the Capitol

Santos – who is currently facing federal prosecution – has been mocking Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY), who recently pulled the fire alarm during a key House vote but has maintained it was an accident.

Santos and his colleagues believe Bowman pulled the alarm on purpose, as the Democrats were desperate to delay a vote on a 45-day funding bill that would prevent a government shutdown. Santos has since compared Bowman’s act to the rioters at the Capitol on January 6th and has also accused him of treason. Most recently, he has proposed an amendment to a major government funding bill focused on “ensuring fire safety protocol in the halls of Congress.” He even posted another facetious video on Twitter explaining how a fire alarm works.

Bowman has told the press that he did not pull the fire alarm to delay a vote but that he mistakenly set it off while actually in a rush to get to a vote. He said he got stuck behind a door that is not typically locked.

The gay/trans panic defense

This week, Delaware became the 17th state to ban the so-called “gay and trans panic” defense, a legal defense strategy used to justify violent crimes against LGBTQ+ people due to a perpetrator “panicking” over discovering their victim’s sexual orientation or gender identity.

In the state House, most Republicans voted against the bill, while all Democrats voted in favor. But in the state Senate, the bill passed with bipartisan support. In fact, it passed unanimously (with two members absent), with every Democratic and Republican senator also signing up to co-sponsor it.

Mauritius

The Supreme Court of Mauritius decriminalized gay sex in a landmark ruling overturning a colonial-era law that penalized the act with up to five years in prison.

The court ruled that the law “was not introduced in Mauritius to reflect any indigenous Mauritian values but was inherited as part of our colonial history from Britain.”

Knowingly filing false campaign donor reports

Nancy Marks, Santos' former advisor and campaign treasurer, told a federal court on Thursday that Santos illegally “submitted bogus campaign finance reports” to help attract more donors to his campaign. She also signaled her willingness to testify against Santos in court when he faces 13 federal criminal charges related to financial misdealings and fraud.

To take an antibiotic as a "morning after" pill for STIs

Guidelines from the CDC published on Monday propose health providers offer doxycycline to men who have sex with men, and trans women, within three days of having unprotected sex in a formulation commonly known as doxy PEP (or post-exposure preventative).

The inexpensive antibiotic has been available for more than 40 years and is commonly used to treat acne, chlamydia and Rocky Mountain spotted fever. The drug’s side effects include stomach problems and rashes after sun exposure.

To establish a parental relationship with her kids

Grimes says that she hasn't even been allowed to see a picture of the three kids she had with Musk, X Æ A-Xii, Exa Dark Sideræl Musk, and Tau Techno Mechanicus.

Musk has said that he is "actively lobbying to criminalize" gender-affirming care for trans youth. Despite his alleged concern for the youth, Grimes says that Musk won't even respond to her lawyer. Musk also has a transgender daughter who changed her name so that she wouldn't be associated with her father "in any way, shape, or form." 

Tales of the City author Armistead Maupin

Donald Trump

Greene and others said that Donald Trump is the best person to be speaker, despite the fact that he's not a Congressmember, after Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) was ousted by a small group of extreme Republicans.

“He will pass my bill to stop transgender surgeries on kids and keep men out of women’s sports,” Greene said as she listed reasons he should get the position despite having no legislative experience. She was referring to her bill to ban transgender children from accessing gender-affirming care that would also make it harder for transgender adults to get such care.

Libs of TikTok

At least 11 schools or school districts received bombing threats during September, mere days after anti-LGBTQ+ activist Chaya Raichik – who goes by “Libs of TikTok” online — made posts highlighting aspects of their employees’ LGBTQ+-inclusive measures. The threats led to student evacuations and school closings.

Raichik’s previous posts have led to bombing and death threats against numerous other schools and children’s hospitals. She has claimed that she is merely sharing information and can’t control how people respond. However, she hasn’t done much to discourage her followers from committing such acts.

Vice President Kamala Harris

In a full-circle moment, Butler was sworn in to thunderous applause by Vice President Kamala Harris, who was the second-ever Black woman to serve in the Senate, also from California.

Butler has become the first out LGBTQ+ person of color to serve as a senator. She is also the third-ever Black woman to serve in the Senate.